Dollar Largely Unchanged as Affordable Care Act Replacement Vote Looms
24 March 2017 - 3:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Ira Iosebashvili
The dollar was broadly unchanged against developed currencies
Friday, as investors awaited a key congressional vote on health
care.
The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the dollar
against a basket of 16 currencies, was recently unchanged at
90.
Republicans are expected to vote on a bill to replace the
Affordable Care Act on Friday, a day after last-minute negotiations
failed to gain majority support for the legislation only hours
ahead of a planned vote in the House.
Many investors view the vote as a gauge of whether President
Donald Trump wields the political capital required to push through
promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending in the term.
Expectations that the new presidential administration would
boost the economy through fiscal stimulus pushed the dollar to a
14-year high in the weeks after the election. The U.S. currency has
weakened more recently, as it became apparent the White House would
have difficulty fulfilling its legislative agenda.
Failure to repeal the law would "be a blow for the president's
prestige and agenda and may temporarily deflate the dollar,"
analysts at Scotiabank said in a note to clients.
In emerging markets, the dollar fell 0.5% against the Mexican
peso, to 18.84. I fell 0.5% against the Russian ruble, to
57.10.
Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2017 11:33 ET (15:33 GMT)
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